Cooling performance enhancement and economic analysis of air conditioner systems integrated with phase change materials for telecommunication base station

Traditional cooling systems in existing telecommunication base stations consume more than 50 % of their overall operational energy costs, thus creating an urgent need for efficient thermal management solutions to retrofit these systems. This research specifically proposes an innovative solution that couples latent heat storage units with existing air conditioner systems, aiming to reduce cooling costs and enhance cooling capacity in TBS with minimal modifications. The system employs a temperature threshold control strategy with three operating modes designed for seasonal variations, and its steady-state performance has been verified through full-scale prototype design and experimental test bench construction. The results demonstrate that, compared to conventional air conditioner, this coupled system reduces indoor temperature fluctuations by 60.47 % while improving the utilization rate of phase change materials. When the air conditioner is set to 28 °C, the system maintains indoor temperature consistently below 29.1 °C. After introducing fresh air into the system, energy consumption decreases significantly, saving 34 % in daily electricity usage and reducing costs by 23.8 %. Furthermore, adopting seasonal switching strategies further enhances year-round performance, decreasing overall energy consumption by 34.7 % and achieving cost savings of 30.21 %. Economic analysis indicates that mass-produced systems have a payback period of approximately 9.81 years, saving about 16,000 CNY over 20 years compared to traditional systems. This research comprehensively analyzes the technical and economic benefits of combining phase change materials with conventional cooling systems, providing a sustainable and cost-effective solution for thermal demand management in telecommunication base station environments.